The manufacture of fabrics decorated by transfer of designs printed with volatile, dispersible dyes is now widely practiced. In one embodiment of this practice, printing rolls using a variety of printing procedures such as flexography, screen-printing, etc., are used for printing on uncoated paper with an ink containing a volatile, dispersible dye, a resin binder and a solvent. Multi-colored art work can be prepared in this way on the uncoated stock. After the paper is dry, it is placed against the fabric to be printed and heated under sufficient pressure to hold the paper in close contact with the fabric. The fabric must be of the type which will accept the dye which is volatilized in the process. With close contact, the individual dots of half-tone printing can be transferred without loss of resolution.
The appropriate fabrics are the synthetics such as the linear polyesters, nylon and blends of wool and cotton with synthetics. There are also dispersible dyes which will react with cellulose but these are not widely used.
In accordance with the above embodiment of the process, the transfer from the paper to the fabric may take place continuously so that long stretches of fabric are prepared. Alternatively, the art work may be in the form of compositions of limited size and the printed paper is cut up so that each cut section contains a single composition. These compositions, which, in a way, resemble decalcomanias, are then distributed to establishments such as novelty stores which can apply any selected composition to a fabric chosen by the customer. The customer may bring in his own sweat shirt, for instance, or may buy one from the store. The store has a heated press for applying the art composition to the selected piece of wearing apparel or fabric.
As will be evident from the above description, the choice of art compositions to be applied to a fabric is limited by the choice of the printer who decides which art composition to prepare for sale. As a result, it is difficult, as matters stand now, for any individual to prepare his own design in the colors of his choice and then to apply this design to the fabric or piece of wearing apparel of his own choice. Obviously, it would be highly desirable to make such a choice available.